


Under the Waves

by Inkribbon796



Series: Masks and Maladies [42]
Category: Jacksepticeye Fandom, Markiplier fandom - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Magic, Novice’s attempt at spelunking safety, never split the party, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21875536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkribbon796/pseuds/Inkribbon796
Summary: Jack and Nate look for clues on how to contain or at least keep their doppelgängers from causing more destruction. Unfortunately it means traversing a near frozen lake in the middle of winter, so they have to call in a favor.
Series: Masks and Maladies [42]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538131
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30





	Under the Waves

**Author's Note:**

> PSA: don’t go swimming in frozen lakes. It’s not safe, has a high likelihood of going terribly wrong.

Sean was working at his computer, sitting in his apartment. It was late and he wanted to sleep in his own bed. He usually spent time in his own apartment. More and more people were starting to call him Jack instead of Jackie, which would have been more common back home, but here in Egoton it was catching on more. He still got both, but the change was refreshing.

So he was at home, spending time with his cat and his girlfriend when he got a call. It was his person phone though, it was Jackie’s.

Sean sighed, there went his evening. He picked it up, “H’ello?”

__ _ “Hey, Jackaboy,” _ the speaker called out.  _ “How’s it going?” _

“Nate?” Sean leaned forward. “Ye still alive?

__ _ “Yeah, yeah, look, I’m coming back to town,” _ Nate told him.  _ “Tell me, is Natemare still in town?” _

“Course he is,” Sean scoffed. “Causing all kinds ‘a trouble, got away from yah didn’t he?”

__ _ “Well you try controlling a glitch demon bent on absolute destruction,” _ Nate responded.  _ “Bet Anti’s been a saint.” _

“Shut up,” Sean rolled his eyes. “Call me when you come in, it’d be nice to catch up. I know Mark and the other guys would like to see you again.”

__ _ “Will do, I found something, something that’ll help me contain that freak for longer than an hour,” _ Nate offered.  _ “Who knows? Might even work on Anti.” _

Sean sat up, “Yer pullin’ my nads.”

__ _ “I don’t know yet,” _ Nate admitted, sounding hesitant.  _ “But it’s the best lead I’ve gotten in years, and I’m off tour so I’m willing to take it.” _

“Yah got a source fer that?” Sean was already pulling up something to look it up.

__ _ “Well it’s off the beaten path,” _ Nate answered.  _ “You know that lake in Egoton that hooks up to the river?” _

“Do ye know how cold it is here in Egoton?” Sean growled. “This is one of the worst winters in years, we got three feet of snow out there.”

__ _ “I know, it’s why I want to check before we go, maybe you can ask around to check if there’s even a place like that. I know you’re around some people that specialize in weird stuff like that.” _

Jack rolled his eyes. “Less specialist an’ more magical fanboy. He’ll try just about anything twice, he’s charred his own eyebrows off at least a hundred times by now.”

__ _ “Well, he knows more than the guy I was talking to, I swear he like some a grave digger or something,” _ Nate admitted.  _ “So I tried to get away from him pretty fast.” _

“Yeah good call,” Sean agreed. “Well, hope you get back to town safely.”

After their goodbyes, Jack wrapped up what he was doing and then headed over to the base. Quickly heading into Marvin’s smaller library, his books kept away from the Host’s sprawling basement library. This room was used to hold Marvin’s collection of magical books and his collection of journals he used to practice his acts and spellwork.

Jack saw Silver out of costume, talking to Marvin. He had his arm in a sling, which surprised Jack because of his super strength and quick healing.

“Well I don’t know what set them off, but it had to be something,” Mark spat in anger.

“Hey, what happen?” Jack made himself known to the other two heroes in the room. “Ye lose a fight with a brick wall?”

Mark stared at him before marching over and taking his hands from his pocket.

“Hey,” Jack spat, Mark dropped the speedster’s phone in a box with Mark and Marvin’s phones. “Gimme back by phone ye douchebag.”

“Did you say or do anything to Dark or Anti?” Mark demanded, pointing at him with his still good hand.

“No, why?” Jack asked.

“Cause they’re both pissed at each other,” Mark spat. “I don’t know what happened but they’ve been tearing into each other. It means that Dark’s network is half as efficient but even Wilford is avoiding Dark. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t you.”

“No, I’m clean. Did Dark do that?” Sean pointed at Mark’s arm.

“Not technically, Anti was trying to throw a piece of pipe at Dark, and Dark used me as a meatshield,” Mark sighed. “Doc had to reset the bone because it was already growing back wrong.”

“Ouch,” Jack cringed. “So we don’t know what happened?”

“No,” Marvin dragged his fingers across his face, “but Anti’s been trying ta take me o’er e’ery chance he gets so I’ve been makin’ wards all night.”

“Really fast before ye sleep, Nate is coming by an’ we wanted to know if yah’ve heard ‘a White Ridge Island?”

“In the lake?” Mark asked. “The really creepy island in the middle with all the holes?”

“Yeah, have yah been there?” Jack asked.

“No,” Mark snorted, as if Jack was crazy. “What part of creepy, cursed island don’t you understand? I don’t believe in ghosts, but there’s all kinds of stuff wrong with the place.

“I’ve heard ‘a the place,” Marvin admitted. “It’s the one with all the underwater caves, right?”

“You’re planning on going, and I just wanna say:  _ nope _ ,” Mark already decided. Then he looked down, “I’ve never been so happy to have a broken arm.

Sean rolled his eyes. “Look, Nate is pretty sure we got a lead ta be able ta stop Natemare an’ Anti from causin’ so much destruction. I want ta find out about it before Anti finds out we’re onta him.”

“You’re insane,” Mark reminded. “We’re in the middle of the coldest months of the year.”

“Give me a sec,” Marvin yawned and walked back to a bookshelf to grab a rather ratty looking journal. Careful with this, it’s protected with magic but it can’t take too many hits.”

“Alright, thanks,” Sean smiled. “I promise not to let this thing get wet.”

“It’s freezing cold, make sure you’ve got e’erythin’ yah need, an’ take these,” Marvin held up two necklaces with just a large stone with drawing etched into each of them. “It’ll keep the surroundin’ water around ye at room temp two hours after it first makes contact wit’ water, if ye need it. Be quick, don’t be dumb, don’t sleep on the damn island.”

“Really, yer just going to hand me these?” Sean asked.

“Only cause yer dumb as bricks an’ I don’t want to go myself,” Marvin dismissed. “In the first page of the journal is the name ‘a the only guy crazy enough to take ye out in this weather. He’s as tall as a tree an’ built like one too, ye’ll know him when yah see him.”

“I owe yah,” Jack smiled and grabbed his phone from the box. “Hope I bring back good news.”

“Don’t drown,” Mark warned him.

“Won’t,” Jackie was already running to get back downstairs, making sure he wasn’t in costume before he left to meet Nate, keeping both the book and necklaces out of the snow. He met Nate at this pub named: The Grey Otter that sat close to the industrial part of the city, but was closer to the large river that led north to Lake Doomstrum.

Now that he was going to actually head towards the lake, he wanted to know who the hell in Egoton had been responsible for naming stuff. If he had to put money down it was probably Dark.

The two of them walked in and Jack started looking around when he saw him, the guy must have been ten feet tall, at least. Nate looked over to him before they walked over to him.

“Hey, buddy,” Sean spoke up. “Are ye Captain Magnum?”

“Who be asking?” The huge tower of a man asked, turning to them.

“I heard from a friend that yer crazy enough to help us,” Jack said. “There’s this abandoned island with some buried treasure from the center of the island. Some ancient diagrams on the cave we want. It’ll take two hours top and you won’t have to get into the water.”

“Arrr,” the Captain smiled down at Nate and Jackie. “What type ‘a treasure are we talking about?”

Jack took out an old picture of a ferry ship, it was a black and white picture with a large house in the middle of the large island. “Bout 150 years ago there was this old house that buried a lot of their fortune there and never came back for it. The island hasn’t been touched since, not sure why.”

“Sounds like it be haunted,” Magnum grinned.

“Nah,” Nate rolled his eyes, “I think the place was Dark’s before he started working out of the warehouses. It’s a shady-as-hell island in the middle of a lake.”

Magnum shrugged, “Sounds good to me.”

“So, yah in?” Jack smiled. “Marvin said you could help us.”

“Ahh, the cat magician,” Cap. Magnum smiled. “Well, he did help me an’ me crew out in Cancun. So long as ye don’t get between me and me treasure, we should gettin’ along swimmin’ly.”

“Was that a pun?” Jack asked, mentally asking himself when Marvin had the time to flake off to go to Cancun and didn’t tell him.

“Do we have ourselves a deal, boys?” the Captain smiled.

“Yeah, we just want some cave drawings, ye can have anythin’ else,” Jackie agreed. “Consider it even fer dragging you out in the snow.”

“Aye,” Magnum smiled and they shook on it, Jack’s hand just being engulfed by the pirate’s. “Thar be a deal. Ye two got some names?”

“Just call me Jack,” Sean said. “This is Nate.”

“Well, if ye boys are up fer it, we’ll take yah on tomorrow, how does that sound?” Magnum boasted.

Sean looked at Nate. “I’m still in town,” Nate smiled.

Cap. Magnum laughed and slapped both of them on the back. “Join us boys, let’s get to know yah.”

Jack looked at the beer stein glasses on the table, knowing that he was going to drop after maybe a couple of those. He tried to back out of it, but Sean and Nate found themselves at the table with them. Sure enough Sean blacked out somewhere in the day and woke up with a terrible hangover. Nate looked pretty bad too, but he woke up before Jack did.

“Aren’t you Irish?” Nate tried to grin but it came off more as a pained grimace.

“Haha,” Jack spat, glaring at him. “Imma kick yer ass.”

After a bit and getting something that would help his raging headache calm down, and some sunglasses, Jack got onto the deck of the ship, both in warm jackets.

“I see you landlubbers don’t have the stomach fer a good, stiff drink,” Magnum smiled.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jack groaned. “How long until we reach the island?”

“Not much longer,” the Captain smiled. “We were delayed by a snowstorm.”

“Right,” Nate said. “Hey, Jack, you’re sure that those necklaces are going to work?”

“Yeah,” Jack told him. “I’ve seen Marv use them before.”

“Kay, ‘cause I’m not freezing to death, not even for this,” Nate reminded.

“Me neither,” Sean agreed. The island came into view through the winter fog and falling snow.

“Land ho!” Cap. Magnum called out and they were anchored and tethered to shore.

Sean and Nate went to go change into gear that would help them cross through the cave.

“Would be way easier if that American prick didn’t fear the water,” Jackie grumbled.

“Least we still have cell reception if anything happens,” Nate reminded.

Jack led them to a cave off to the side of the island. Not too far from the ship. Immediately upon stepping into the cave, both of them realized how warm it was compared to the outside temperature. Which was weird, and unnerving. The water in the half-flooded cave was almost room temperature already, and there was a walkway to the other side, but it looked as if it had gone unused for years and had fallen into almost complete disrepair.

Nate gave it a suspicious look, hiking the bag closer to him. “Five bucks says a couple feet in it gets freezing.”

“I bet yah yer right,” Jack agreed and they started to get prepped to navigate through it, moving slowly and marking the exit of the main cave, walking for a bit and marking every time they had to vere into a new tunnel.

It didn’t take long to reach a second large opening that ended in a small tunnel about weight height. Further down the caveb ut it was pitch black.

Nate used a flashlight to see that the cave seemed to keep going into the abyssal blackness, it was more than enough to fit both of them through at the same time, but only just.

“Oh that looks like a murder hole,” Nate stared into the tunnel, trying to angle his flashlight to see deeper down it. A couple rats scurried farther down the tunnel, the two guys only catching the reflection of their eyes.

But further down the tunnel was something scored into the walls. “I’ll go,” Jack groaned.

“You sure?” Nate asked, already moving to get out of the water. “Cause I say we don’t.”

“I’ve got the faster healing,” Jack pulled himself out and into the tunnel. “Just don’t get grabbed by a lake monster. Hand me the camera and the flashlight.”

“Hurry back, don’t go so far down you can’t see me,” Nate warned him. “I wanna leave as quickly as possible. You want me to hum something?”

“If it summons your double, no,” Jack already crawling towards the stuff on the wall and fell into another cave that just a second ago he swore didn’t exist. He swore as he fell on his face, almost breaking his nose.

“Sean?” Nate called out, “where are you?”

“In here, there’s a whole other cave,” Jack stuck his head back into the tunnel. “It sucks in here.”

That’s when he looked around at the tunnel, starting to hear a shuffling down the tunnel and turned to see Nate following him. There was something just . . . wrong about this place. Like it was coiling something in his stomach and his feet. Almost like the place should be accompanied by creepy Gregorian orchestra chanting and a monster watching him. But there was just silence.

Before he could tell Nate to stay back, he was already tumbling into the cave. “Ouch,” he grumbled. “Where are we?”

Jack shined the flashlight around to see massive reliefs burned into the stone, it showed a figure plunging a knife into its chest with a misty blackness behind it.

“Uhhh,” Nate responded. “Hope that’s not the spell we need.”

Jack looked around to see an image of what for a second he thought looked like Dark, the image lacked eyes and a mouth, but it had Dark’s stubble beard and mustache, a crack in the cave wall that split Dark’s face in half. Right next to him was an image with a black mark across its neck, and another with black lines scored down its face.

“Anti’s not from here,” Sean voiced in surprise. “I’m from Ireland. There’s no way he comes from Egoton.”

“And I’m from Virginia,” Nate reminded. “I don’t think this is the weirdest thing we’ve come across.”

Jack walked over to look at the writing under each of the figures, the letters under Dark’s picture was especially faded.

“How old is Dark?” Nate asked, walking up to the one with the lines running down its eyes to touch the image before pulling his hand away as if it had shocked him.

“Older than Mark’s folks,” Sean admitted. “Old as the town.”

“Right,” Nate hummed.

Jack and Nate began taking pictures of the walls, making sure to get a clear shot of any detail they could find and then left. Quickly leaving the tunnel and following the rope back. The oppressive weight of the room lifting the further they got from it and the images on the wall.

The two heroes got back to the ship, the snow storm picking up again and they rushed to get back to the part of the ship they’d been sleeping at. Nate already starting to his computer and send them back to Marvin.

Marvin was quick to get into contact with them, as Magnum was coming back with a couple heavy-looking wooden boxes.

__ _ “What the hell was Anti doin’ there?” _ Marvin demanded, not even bothering with a hello. His voice crackling over the speaker of Jack’s phone.

“Yah tell me,” Jack responded. “I couldn’t read any ‘a that stuff.”

__ _ “Okay so, from the big one with our rogues’ gallery on it, it’s not a summoning stone,” _ Marvin reporter.  _ “I doubt whatever the hell it is, is all sunshine and rainbows, but they didn’t come from that cave.” _

“That’s good right?” Nate asked.

__ _ “Depends,” _ Marvin admitted and they could hear the rustling of papers.  _ “On who made it, an’ why they made it in the first place. I’m gonna need more time ta decipher this, but it’s gonna take ages cause I don’t speak whate’er the shite this dead scrawl is.” _

“Ask King,” Sean realized, feeling like a complete idiot for not bringing him along in the first place. “He knows like five languages, an’ the Docs always have him translatin’ stuff.”

Marvin was quiet for a second or two,  _ “Huh, that might work.” _

Nate pulled the phone closer to him, “Hey, Marv, somewhere in there is supposed to be a containment spell. So keep it off the books, okay?”

__ _ “Right,” _ Marvin agreed.  _ “Gotta get started on this, see yah freaks around.” _

“Good luck, an’ thanks,” Seán told him. “I’ll try and keep Anti off ‘a yah.”

__ _ “I’d appreciate that,” _ Marvin told him.  _ “I do know something though: whoever dug or found the tunnel was using it like a dowsing rod for demons and other creatures like that, so they could track ‘em. It’s like a records room.” _

“Thanks for your help,” Nate said before Jack could.

__ _ “Sure, I’ll get back to you two when I have something concrete,” _ Marvin excused, and then the call ended.

“I’m going to start searching for other leads,” Nate decided immediately, taking his computer back.

“Good idea,” Jack groaned. “Least I got out ‘a the base.”

He stood up, “I’m going to go see what that pirate guy’s up to, see you around.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Nate was always looking at his computer. “Have fun.”

“Nothin’ else to do right now,” Sean shrugged and walked back up to the deck to talk to Magnum until they made landfall again. 


End file.
